Republican Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger panned former President Donald Trump’s upcoming speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) during a Sunday morning appearance on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”
Trump’s CPAC speech Sunday will mark his first public appearance since leaving office. Discussing the potential content of the speech with anchor Margaret Brennan, Kinzinger predicted that it would include “self-congratulations” and “a lot of fear.”
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“I think we are a party that has been, for too long, pedaling in fear, using fear as a compelling way to get votes, and fear does motivate,” Kinzinger said. “But after a while, fear can destroy a country, can destroy narratives, and it can destroy a democracy. And we have to quit pedaling that.”
“I think what you’ll hear from the president at CPAC is self-congratulations, and no ability to recognize we have lost the House, the Senate, and the presidency because of Donald Trump, and you’re going to see a lot of fear,” he continued.
The Illinois congressman, who has been a frequent critic of Trump and his role in inciting the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, called on Republicans to “present a competing alternative narrative” to the former president. (RELATED: Rep. Adam Kinzinger Received Scathing Letter From Family Members After Calling For Trump’s Removal)
“When you only hear from Donald Trump, and when people walk around in fear of his tweets or his comments or they use his fear to pedal winning re-election, of course he’s going to motivate people,” he said.